EP 429 - A Post-Mortem on Co-Hosting the 2025 Aurora Awards with Liz May Anderson
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
Release Date: 08/14/2025
EP 454 - Finding Surprising Success Publishing Kids' Books with Darcy Pattison
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
Mark interviews award-winning author Darcy Pattison about publishing childrens' books. In their conversation, Mark and Darcy talk about: Darcy's background on getting into being an author of children's book The 70 books Darcy has written in the past 13 years The number of different illustrators Darcy has worked with over the years The Moments in Science picture books Darcy has written with along with the specific illustrator who has worked on a dozen of those titles with her The books for authors Darcy is releasing in January 2026 that collect details about the current state of publishing for...
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EP 453 - Celebrating Eight Years, 452 Episodes and One Simple Truth
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
Mark reflects on the anniversary of the first episode of this podcast, which took place on Jan 5, 2018. Links of Interest: EP 001 - Substack Article: (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By
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EP 452 - Accounting for Murphy's Law when Setting Realistic Goals
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
In this solo episode Mark outlines a dozen tips to consider when setting realistic goals. Links of Interest: EP 451 - Draft2Digital Self Publishing Insiders - Jan 1, 2026 Episode () (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice Generation - Affiliate link) The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By
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EP 451 - Messages to Readers
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
In this solo episode Mark shares a couple of recent messages to readers in the hopes that it inspired other authors with ideas of the types of things that their readers might find interesting. The two examples are: 1) Mark's introduction to his recent collection of stupid dad jokes (and how that can tie to the use of making the local community the "hero" or "focus" 2) Mark's recent author newsletter with a gift for readers and the story that updates recent changes to an ongoing series he's writing Links of Interest: (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice Generation -...
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EP 450 - The Life of a Mercenary Writer with Jarrett Mazza
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
Mark interviews Jarrett Mazza about his action/thriller novels and his mercenary-style approach to writing. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In their interview, Mark and Jarrett talk about: Jarrett's origins and how he got into writing Starting off writing comic books and short stories How Jarrett considers himself a "mercenary" writer Jarrett's love of fiction within the...
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EP 449 - The Myth of "Upload Your Book And They Will Come"
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
In this solo episode, Mark reads from that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page. This is be Part 2 of a two-part series of episodes. (See ) Prior to the main content of this episode, Mark shares a personal update, comments from recent episodes, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at . Links of Interest: Article: EP 446 - EP 445 - (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to...
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EP 448 - When Your Writing Gets Rejected A Gazillion Times
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
In this solo episode, Mark reads from that he recently shared on the Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing Substack page. This will be Part 1 of a two-part series of episodes. Prior to the main content of this episode, Mark shares a personal update, a comment from a recent episode, and a word from this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by The 7 P's of Publishing Success by Mark Leslie Lefebvre, which you can download in eBook and/or Audiobook format for free at . Links of Interest: Article: EP 445 - (Mark's affiliate link - use MARK10 to save 10%) (AI Voice...
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EP 447 - The Future of Hybrid Publishing with J.D. Barker
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
Mark interviews J.D. Barker about his writing and publishing journey and his many collaborations over the years, including with James Patterson, and the unique publishing and distribution collaboration with Simon & Schuster that combines the best of the self-publishing and the traditional publishing worlds. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In their interview, Mark and J.D....
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EP 446 - Exercising Multiple Creative Outlets with Artist, Author, and Musician Meaghan Smith
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
Mark interviews Meaghan Smith about the new children's book IT SNOWED that she wrote and illustrated, which was inspired by her popular holiday song of the same name. This Juno-Award winning singer-songwriter shares her many creative passions for music, writing, and art. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. This episode is sponsored by an affiliate link to . Use code MARK10 at checkout and save 10% off your own personalized report. In their interview, Mark and Meaghan talk about: The origin of Meaghan's song "It Snowed" and how...
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EP 445 - Overcoming The Self-Sabotage from Buried Trauma with Andrea Torrey Balsara
Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing
In this episode Mark interviews Andrea Torrey Balsara about her writing, her passion in inspiring joy through storytelling and energy healing, trauma, creativity and much more. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a brief personal update and a word about this episode's sponsor. is available now in hardcover, mass market sized paperback, and audiobook. In the interview Mark and Andrea talk about: The very serious and troubling trauma Andrea had been living with for most of her life without realizing it and how it prevented her from trying to focus and work on The sabotage that kept creeping...
info_outlineThis episode features a campfire chat with Mark's partner Liz Anderson about co-hosting the 2025 Aurora Awards livestream on Sunday August 10, 2025.
In the interview, Mark and Liz talk about:
- The background of co-hosting the Aurora Awards over the years
- Working on a pandemic parody music video on a whim within about 24 hours as a bit of an escape
- The trepidation and challenge of working on something that one is not as familiar about
- The level of commitment and interest within the speculative fiction community
- How much time and creative energy people have poured themselves into the creative work they do
- The privilege of being able to highlight these creators and their achievements
- A history of the themes Mark and Liz have used for their Aurora opening shtick bits over the years
- The "Last Minute Production" branding that Liz has long adapted
- Leveraging the mixture of talent/skill in singing when working on a project together (how Mark sings with far more passion than ability
- How Liz and Mark have been pushing themselves every year
- The challenge of offering constructive feedback to someone you are close to
- The importance of just getting it done when you're completing a task with a tight deadline
- Considering that "first draft" of something that's created in order to get to the next level
- Getting the thing "out of your head" to keep things moving
- The different approaches Mark and Liz have when it comes to putting content into the world
- Liz's experience having never fallen flat on her face when creating content completely at the last minute
- Advice about stepping into an environment where you're not as familiar with the landscapeould give to writers
- And more...
After the interview Mark reflects on the way Liz described the staff and students at her school.
The introduction and concluding reflection were performed by Mark's digital AI voice clone from ElevenLabs.
Links of Interest:
- The 2025 Aurora Awards (Livestreamed on Aug 10, 2025)
- Mark and Liz Parody Videos
- Manuscript Report (Mark's affiliate link)
- Buy Mark a Coffee
- Patreon for Stark Reflections
- The 2025 Aurora Awards Livestream (Sunday Aug 10 at 5 PM Eastern)
- The Opening Schtick Bits from previous Aurora Awards
- Mark's YouTube channel
- Mark's Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing Newsletter (Signup)
- An Author's Guide to Working With Bookstores and Libraries
- The Relaxed Author
- Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
- An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
- Wide for the Win
- Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books
- The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles
- Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard
- Merry Christmas! Shitter Was Full!: A Trivia Guide to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0